Courtesy of Yahna Harris

Sara Robin and Jack LeMay do not want people to stop using social media. They both have their own Instagram accounts, and the documentary they recently premiered at SXSW Film & TV Festival even has its own promotional Instagram account. What they do want, however, is for social media to be safer for everyone, especially for young people who are growing up with an addictive repository of short-form videos and never-ending photos at their fingertips.

“I think what we want to show with this film, really, is that technology is designed, and it means we can redesign it, and it’s in our power. And it is in the young generation’s power, particularly, who’s going to step into roles of leadership,” Robin said.

Directed by Robin and written by LeMay, “Your Attention Please” follows the story and lobbying efforts of Kristin Bride, a mother who lost her son, Carson, to suicide after he experienced a period of cyberbullying through Snapchat’s YOLO platform. The documentary also features Trisha Prabhu, the founder of ReThink, an app that asks social media users to consider the comments or content they are about to post with the goal of limiting online hate and creating responsible digital citizens.

“[Instagram has] changed what friendship looks like, and the kind of in-person time we spend together. And I think that is the big motivator. We need to get back to human connection as it was and use these tools as a positive way to allow that to happen, rather than a way to get in the middle of that,” LeMay said.

Bride’s story is tragic; her son’s suicide left her with a compelling force she now uses in her lobbying endeavors to create meaningful change in social media regulation. 

“This is a really heavy burden that she carries. And if I step into her life as a filmmaker and try to represent that story, that means I’m also now taking on that burden,” Robin explained, emphasizing how important it was to her that she properly convey every detail of Bride’s narrative. “There was such a strong pull from that story. I just had to follow it and do my best and see if I could.”

The documentary adopts a hopeful outlook on the challenges youth are facing as they grow up with social media. The conversation surrounding Big Tech’s impact on the youth is often cynical, yet Robin and Lemay entered it to suggest how audiences themselves can help build a better future.

“It’s very easy right now to feel defeated, and it can feel like such an uneven battle. But truly, as we say in [the] film, it’s just human beings making decisions, and it’s one person talking to another person, and there is absolutely a culture shift underway,” Robin said.

The changing social landscape Robin referred to is highlighted in the film through interviews with the founders of The Offline Club, a worldwide organization that creates phone-free third spaces for young adults to gather. In a similar light, the film showcased the efforts a high school is making to limit cellphone usage by having students place their phones in Yondr pouches, blocking a student’s access to their device entirely until the school day ends.

“We wanted to show some really down to earth, relatable ways that people can make change tomorrow, whether that’s deciding you want to do an offline club at your college and want to start making that a cool, normal thing to do [or] whether you want to get involved in what keeping phones out of classrooms might look like, and normalizing that kind of behavior,” LeMay said. “So this is a great time to get on board — to not feel defeated, but to get active and see how you can plug into this movement that is growing,” Robin added.

One of the first people Robin got on board to include in the film was seven-time New York Times bestselling author and Georgetown professor Cal Newport. Newport is known for his concept of “digital minimalism,” encouraging people to use technology intentionally, taking a step back from when it might become intrusive in their daily routines, relationships, and levels of focus. While the film features around 16 interviews, Robin began with nearly 100 preliminary, informational interviews through including an interest form in Newport’s newsletter. Afterwards, Robin conducted various other interviews, many of which surrounded heavy and vulnerable topics.

“I’m a very emotional person, so I was hiding behind a camera quite a few times just crying because it gets to you,” Robin said.

Before the documentary found its focus on Bride’s story, the inspiration for the documentary was sparked in 2022 by Robin’s personal relationship with her phone and social media: “Your Attention Please” did not start out as a film about social media regulation. The initial concept centered around how different people minimize their screen time, but after conducting this initial round of informational interviews, Robin’s vision for the documentary shifted.

“I very quickly realized this was a bigger topic than just individual habits and individual choices, and what we really needed were some collective solutions,” she said.

One of the many aspects Robin and LeMay focused on was finding the story’s central point, a challenge that proved to be difficult noting the number of storylines they could have included. During this process, LeMay explained that five to 10 storylines did not make the final cut. 

“The heartbreaking process of making a movie is, you know all these people in real life, so you feel like you know that each of them has something really powerful to give. But again, your role is to figure out who the audience needs to listen to to really get the message through in the most effective way,” LeMay said.

By the end of the film, the documentary’s message becomes clear: “This is a great time to get on board, to not feel defeated, but to get active and see how you can plug into this movement that is growing,” Robin said.

“Your Attention Please” premiered at SXSW 2026. The film is currently seeking nationwide distribution.